A A

Director's Statement on Black Lives Matter

Dear West Orange Public Library Family,
 
Our hearts ache for George Floyd, his family, friends, and all who have suffered racist violence and racial injustice. Our hearts yearn for our nation to find healing, achieve justice, and continue the hard work to overcome racism. It is hard work to make the necessary changes in the system, and in ourselves individually. If it was easy, the many great men and women who have dedicated their entire lives in this struggle would have achieved it. 2020 will mark 401 years since Africans were brought to this land in bondage, 155 years (June 19th) since the final reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas freeing the enslaved, 55 years since the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We must continually strive to fulfill the ideals expressed in our national founding. Let us strive together as President Lincoln said in his 1865 2nd Inaugural Address “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right.” We are all created equal, we are all brothers and sisters. We must finally ensure for all people as stated 244 years ago in the U.S. Declaration of Independence “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 
 
West Orange Public Library does and will continue to embrace and help all people. The diversity of the library staff is among our greatest strengths. All public libraries were created with the idea that it is a benefit to humanity if all people have the right and ability to access information, ideas, and materials to improve their lives. Here are some recommended materials to get you started on our shared journey to a better day.
 
With Peace and Love,
 
West Orange Public Library Board and David Cubie, Library Director
 
Library Resources for Equality, Justice and Understanding:
 
HOOPLA digital resources:
2.   Collections about Race: 
 
 
1.     “How to Be an Antiracist” Ibram X. Kendi                                                                                                
2.     “Stamped From the Beginning” Ibram X. Kendi                                                                                                      
3.     “From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor                                                                                     
5.     “Chokehold” Paul Butler                                                                                                     
6.     “Between the World and Me” Ta-Nehisi Coates                                                                                                            
7.     “Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race” Reni Eddo-Lodge                                     
8.     “Freedom is a Constant Struggle” Angela Davis                                                                                                   
9.     “Sister Outsider”  Audre Lorde                                                                                                      
10.  “Heavy: An American Memoir” Kiese Laymon                                                                                                          
11.  “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” Bryan Stevenson                                                    
12.  “The Warmth of Other Suns” Isabel Wilkerson                                                                                                      
13.  “The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap” Mehrsa Baradaran                            
14.  “On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope” DeRay Mckesson                                              
15.  “The New Jim Crow” Michelle Alexander https://catalog.bccls.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=222.1033.0.0.7&pos=1&cn=1016583                                                                                                             
17.  “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” Robin DiAngelo, Michael Eric Dyson 
18. “The Fire Next Time” James Baldwin                                                                                                                
19. “Women, Race and Class” Angela Davis                                                                                              
20. “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave” Frederick Douglass                         
21. “The Radical King” (writings and speeches of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)                                  
Tags: 
Black Lives Matter
Racial Justice
Justice
Equality